Germs in the Family: The Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Intra-Household Disease Spread
American Economic Review · 2021 · N. Meltem Daysal、Hui Ding、Maya Rossin‐Slater、Hannes Schwandt
中文摘要
学龄前儿童经常生病，并将疾病传播给其他家庭成员。尽管这种经历十分普遍，但有关此类外部性的规模及其后果的因果证据仍然有限，尤其是针对免疫系统和大脑仍处于发育阶段的婴儿期弟妹。我们利用丹麦行政数据表明，在婴儿期，年幼的兄弟姐妹因呼吸系统疾病住院的比率是年长兄弟姐妹的两到三倍。我们结合出生顺序与同一市镇内幼儿呼吸系统疾病患病率的差异，发现生命早期呼吸系统疾病暴露对年幼兄弟姐妹的收入、受教育程度、慢性呼吸系统健康以及心理健康相关结果具有持久的差异化影响。(JEL D13, D62, I12, J12, J13, J24, J31)
Abstract
Preschool-aged children get sick frequently and spread disease to other family members. Despite the universality of this experience, there is limited causal evidence on the magnitudes and consequences of these externalities, especially for infant siblings with developing immune systems and brains. We show in Danish administrative data that during infancy, younger siblings have two to three times higher hospitalization rates for respiratory conditions than older siblings. We combine birth order and within-municipality variation in respiratory disease prevalence among young children, finding lasting differential impacts of early-life respiratory disease exposure on younger siblings' earnings, educational attainment, chronic respiratory health, and mental health-related outcomes. (JEL D13, D62, I12, J12, J13, J24, J31)